Happy Surprises: BDJ Box April 2015

I officially love getting BDJ boxes in the mail. I swear, after the May Yarn Sale, I’m saving up money for a 6-month subscription!

Look at all these goodies!

The theme for this box is ‘Spring into Beauty‘, a call to show off your best blooming self during this helter-skelter vacation time. Traditionally, here in the Philippines, these hot summer months are the perfect time to get away from the humidity of the city, to go lose yourself in the beaches or enjoy the cool breezes of the Cordilleras. Wherever we go, the products in these box aim to keep us at our radiant best.

Here’s a list of what I got, according to the helpful little card that always comes in these boxes:

• MyChoice Pure Herbal Soap (Php 55, 100g)
• Tony Moly Intense Case Snail Foot Mask (Php 198, 18ml)
• Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub (Php 120, 100g)
• Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Body Scrub (Php 15, 20ml)
• MyChoice Bubble Shower Salt 2-in-1 (Php 100, 225g)
• Mustela 2 in 1 Hair and Body Wash (Php 520, 200ml) – 5ml sample sachet
• Mustela Stretch Marks Double Action (Php 1750, 150ml) – two 10ml sample tubes
• Mustela Hydra Bebe Body Lotion (Php 790, 300ml) – 5ml sample sachet
• MyChoice Anti Acne Cream (Php 100, 20g)
• FS Cosmetics Lash Extravagance Mascara (Php 350, 9g)
• Revlon Highlighting Palette in No. 002 Rose Glow (Php 625, 7.5g)
• MyChoice Perfume Spray (PHp 60, 22ml)
• Tony Moly Luminous Glow Aura CC Cream (Php 1098, 30ml)

There’s also the usual inspirational stickers, which I love, and an introductory pamphlet to Mustela products. There’s also an FS Cosmetics catalog, which my daughter will love because she’s in a phase where she likes turning book pages.

Serious respect to whoever packs these monthly subscription boxes. Once I’d pulled everything out, I had no idea how to make them fit again. There’s so much to look at! Huge plus for me, the cosmetics n00b – I have never used any of these products before, ever. And there are SIX full-sized products in here! Totally worth the Php 580 that I paid for it, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!

Tony Moly Luminous Glow Aura CC Cream

I’ve tried BB Cream before, but never CC Cream. Does it mean a level up in coverage? Apparently not.

According to Wikipedia (which is usually where I end up when I use my Google-fu), these are both classified as tinted moisturizers. However, BB Cream, or Blemish/Beauty Balm Cream can be used as a foundation, but it also has certain healing or protective qualities depending on the brand. CC Creams, or Color Control/Correcting Creams, are lighter than BB Creams and are suppose to even out the color of your face, so I’m guessing they’d be more of a primer than an actual full-coverage foundation.

Squeak-worthiness: 1 out of 6. I’d be more excited for this if there were at least two sachets in the box. I would get only two days of use out of this slim sachet, maybe three if I spread it really thinly. I can’t really do a good review in such a short amount of time.

Revlon Highlighting Palette in No. 002 Rose Glow

I’d just commented on another beauty blog about shimmer pearls. I know these aren’t quite the same, but I’ve also never used a highlighter before. In my mind, I always imagined it to be crayons in shades of white, for that Kim Kardashian contouring routine.

Dreams of sky-high cheekbones aside, this is actually quite a versatile palette. I can see this being used for eyeshadow and blush. I may have to watch more Youtube makeup tutorials to learn how to use it as a highlighter though, because I”m a bit wary of the shimmer.

Squeak-worthiness: 4 out of 6. It’s a much more neutral set of colors (compared to the blush that I got from the Jan-Feb box) so I feel more comfortable using it, but three glittery colors? Might take some getting used to.

MyChoice Anti Acne Cream

Squeak-worthiness: 3 out of 6. I don’t really have acne anymore, but I’m always excited to try new products that will help my husband, who hasn’t left those woes behind yet. I try to tell him a change of diet helps too, but while we’re implementing that, we’ll try this new cream too!

MyChoice Pure Herbal Soap (Rejuvenating Effect, Natural Papaya)

How fun looking is this? It’s like the jello dessert that looks like stained glass. And it has a subtle sweet fruity scent. I’ve never used papaya soap before, mostly because any soap I used leaves a faint residue and always leaves my skin feeling dry.

Squeak-worthiness: 4.5 out of 6. Every time I look at it, I’m reminded of jello, haha.

Mustela Stretch Marks Double Action; Mustela Hydra Bebe Body Lotion; Mustela 2 in 1 Hair and Body Wash

Why didn’t this arrive during my 8th month of pregnancy??? That is probably one of my greatest woes: not a single stretch mark to be seen until the last seven weeks of my pregnancy, then BOOM! It’s like they were waiting for me to stop watching for them.

Now I know there’s no way to completely get rid of stretch marks once they’ve developed, and to be honest, I don’t really mind that they’re there. My brother and I have been living with stretch marks ever since our adolescent years, and now we don’t even notice that they’re there. I do love the tiny sachets though, they’ll be perfect for when we go traveling with Houdini.

Squeak-worthiness: 4 out of 6. Mustela is a really good brand for mommies, and I’m excited to try out that it’s like.

Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Body Scrub

Can I just squeak about this for a moment? I’ve been wanting to try this brand out since forever, and now I have 6 sachets and the facial scrub! Kyaaaaaaa for one full month of use! I love  shower-related everything, especially in this heat. Shower-time is me-time, just me under the cold, cold spray of the shower washing the day’s dirt and dried oatmeal off – Heaven!

Squeak-worthiness: 6 out of 6. 6 sachets! They’re 20g each, so that’s 120g of scrubby shower bliss, woohoo! I’m using this tomorrow ^.^

Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub

Now this scrub contains bengkoang, known by its English name ‘jicama’, or by it’s local Philippine name ‘singkamas’- which, coincidentally, is in season right now. I’ve seen ‘jicama’ turn up in some whitening products, though the only one I’ve ever used was a sunscreen. It’ll be interesting to see how this one works out.

Squeak-worthiness: 6 out of 6. Will this return me to my pre-pregnancy shade? We’ll see!

FS Cosmetics Lash Extravagance Mascara

FS Cosmetics Lash Extravagance Mascara (Bristles)

 Ah, mascara. With this and a good eyeliner, I’m all set for eye makeup. I’m not really good with eyeshadow, but I’m happy to say I know my way around a mascara wand. Some days, that’s all you need.

Squeak-worthiness: 5 out of 6. I love mascara so much, I’ll wear it around my baby, just so she thinks my lashes are as long as hers.

MyChoice Perfume Spray (Passy)

I’m not much of a perfume person because they tend to make my head ache. I don’t even like going down the fabric conditioner aisle in the supermarket. When I buy perfume for myself, I usually go for neutral fruit scents, like cucumber. This perfume smells like an Arabian souq. No joke, it took me right back home. And it’s strong. Even after washing it off, I can still smell it on my wrist four hours later.

There’s a nice undertone when it does wear off, a musky sandalwood note that reminds me of traditional Muslim dress and henna and their very thin walking sticks. But I don’t know if I should keep it. Maybe I’ll look up ways to dilute it properly.

Squeak-worthiness: No squeaks here.

MyChoice Bubble Shower Salt 2-in-1

First it was the soap, then two Asian Secrets products, now this. Usually I’m up in arms about whitening products. Just be happy in the skin you’re in, I say. However, recent exposure to the sun has made me rethink my stance. I darken like nobody’s business. The inside of my wrist and my face doesn’t match, that’s how quickly I tan. And it takes absolutely ages to even out.It took me almost a year to get read of my last tan line, and I wasn’t even looking to get one! So, in lieu of swimming in the nude, I guess I’ll try a few of these products to even myself out.

Squeak-worthiness: 5 out of 6. Any excuse to exfoliate is good for me, and I love citrus. And it’s a huge tube!

Tony Moly Intense Case Snail Foot Mask

My experience with pampering feet ends at a homemade soak with warm water and whatever essential oil is at hand. As for the escargot, I knew their slime was used for face masks (and I don’t know how I feel about that), so this product is a totally new beastie for me.

Excerpt from the leaflet: ‘Its unique formula speeds up the renewal process allowing the outer skin to mature and peel away – painlessly – giving way to new skin’

Now I’m torn: should I use it for myself, or for my mom? And if I do use it for my mom, do I tell her there’s snail slime in it?

Squeak-worthiness: I honestly do not know. I’m not a big fan of slime, which is possibly a side effect of having to eat raw oysters for chef school. Regardless, will definitely do a review of this on my mom.

Ahhhh, I really can’t wait to use these (aside from the perfume >.<)! And there’s such a variety here, which is great. I’ll say it before, and I’ll say it again, BDJ Subscription Boxes are GREAT for people who want to try something new. If anyone wants to subscribe, just drop by bdjbox.com.

What about you, any new surprises lately? If you got the box, did you get anything different? Which product would you most like to try?